Wireless methods of communication are becoming increasingly important in many different fields of endeavor. For example, computer users who were once shackled to modems or wired network connections are now able to roam freely as they access networks wirelessly. The demand for wireless access has led to the development of wireless access points. Wireless access points are devices that include one or more wireless transceivers that can communicate with mobile users. Data received from the mobile user can then be sent throughout a network via the access point's network connection, which may be an Ethernet connection to a local area network or a wireless connection to another access point. A network that includes wireless access points is known as a wireless local area network (WLAN).
One example of where WLANs are being used is in warehouses. In a warehouse, different workers may use a host of wireless devices to check inventory and relay that information back to a server computer. In such a warehouse setting, one or more wireless access points may be provided. The wireless access points may be coupled to a computer or local area network such that data received by the access point from a wireless device may be transferred to a wired network.
The wireless access points in a warehouse can also be used for inventory control purposes. This can be accomplished by integrating a radio frequency identification device (RFID) transceiver into the wireless access point. The RFID transceiver can be used to interrogate RFID tags mounted on various items, such as a box, by broadcasting a radio frequency signal. The RFID tag then responds to the interrogation. In one design of an RFID system, the tag responds by back scattering the interrogation signal with a modulation that can carry data back to the RFID receiver. The information received from the tag may include the identity of the object the tag is attached to, information about the object the tag is attached to, the location of the object the tag is attached to, and the like.
In a similar fashion, mobile units in a warehouse setting may also be outfitted with RFID transceivers. This allows the mobile unit to interrogate and receive responses from RFID tags as part of an overall RFID inventory control system.
A drawback of this system is that at certain times an access point may be busy sending or receiving data for one or more users. When the access point is busy, other attempts to send data to the access point via the wireless LAN will be unsuccessful. This leads to inefficiencies in the system. What is needed is a method and system for communicating data to wireless access points.